The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has issued a warning that the mpox outbreak in Africa remains uncontrolled, with cases continuing to rise in several countries.
The World Health Organization has declared the recent mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern following the identification of a new variant.
African nations are grappling with this new crisis amidst the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has highlighted the vulnerabilities of health systems across the continent.
According to Africa CDC data, mpox cases in Africa have surged by 177% over the past year, while deaths have risen by 38.5%.
Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC, highlighted the severity of the situation during a briefing, stating, “We can say today that mpox is not under control in Africa. The increase in cases is concerning for everyone.”
In the past week alone, 2,912 new mpox cases were reported, including the first case in Morocco, thus confirming the spread of the disease across all four regions of the continent. Currently, 15 out of the 55 African Union member states have reported mpox cases.
Kaseya noted that the outbreak has led to 14 new deaths in the past week. He also mentioned that in some countries like Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, multiple strains of the disease are circulating. However, due to insufficient surveillance and testing systems, it is difficult to determine the full extent of the outbreak in other regions.
Vaccination efforts are underway, with Rwanda having started its campaign and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the epicenter of the outbreak, preparing to begin vaccinations in early October.
